Happy Monday Ladybugs!!

Happy Happy Monday to you gals!!! I have been on vacation for the last couple of weeks and haven't been posting...Before we get started I do have a few prayer requests, please continue to pray for my aunt and also my brother in law and his wife. I do have a praise! My other brother in law will be getting baptized on this coming Sunday morning! Praise God!! God is so faithful to His children! Also..I will be homeschooling my girls this fall and need lots of prayers! This morning I was on the phone with Memaw and just looked over my shoulder at the books lined up there on the book shelf and I had a mix of joy and nervousness that we are really doing this! Ok..so let's get started!

Philippians 1:16
They preach because they love Me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the good news.

Every parent dreams of the day when their child obeys without hesitation. If only children found pleasure in timing themselves on how quickly they could respond to a directive from their parents. One thing is uncertain-if suddenly our children woke up and began to obey us immediately with a happy heart, the emergency rooms would be filled with parents suffering concussions from falling backwards in disbelief! What is truly gratifying is when a child matures to the point of realizing the value behind obeying your directive. You see, when children finally comprehend that a parent's directive is for their protection,peace, or even their pleasure, they begin to obey without argument. But as the child continues to grow up, he begins to condition himself to obey because he trusts the one from whom the directive comes. Why the change in attitude? As the child matures, he sees the parents heart and knows they directive was given out of a heart of love.

WHY ASK WHY?
The same is true of every Child of God who receives a directive from God-the Child of God should see beyond the benefits of protection,peace,and pleasure that obeying God would provide and focus on the heart of the Giver. Therefore, the Child of God does not have to focus on the who/what/when/where/why/how of the directive, but simply trust the loving heart of God that is unconditionally committed to our spiritual growth.

GOD'S APPOINTMENT IS GOOD!
Look at the life of Paul when he was "appointed" by God to sit in a prison cell for two years. At the time, Paul was being used of God to spread the Gospel to unreached groups of people, so it seemed like a counterproductive appointment to all concerned. But Paul conditioned his heart to obey God because he had become convinced of God's great care and love for him. In hindsight we know that Paul wrote a large part of the New Testament from prison cells. We are still reaping the benefits from Paul's obedience to God's divine appointment!

BE ENCOURAGED TODAY!
We can trust the directives of God in our lives. Has He appointed us to witness to a family member? To a child? Has God asked us to minister to someone today? It may seem impossible or you may not believe that you are the right one for the job, but remember if God directs you, all you have to do is obey!

I love you girlie's so very much! It is good to be "bloggin" again! I am praying for you all each and every day! MAUH!!!

In Him I Remain,
Shana